In the age of technology, our smartphones have become indispensable companions in our daily lives. They store our memories, connect us to the world, and serve as personal organizers. However, as advanced as they are, they are not impervious to mishaps and malfunctions. One such incident recently unfolded in Orchard, a bustling hub of commerce and culture, when a man entrusted his beloved iPhone to a repair service for a seemingly screen repair. Little did he know that this simple act would spiral into a nightmarish ordeal, leaving his phone locked and his precious data irretrievably lost.
Here is what the man said:
I have been using my iphone 13 Pro for more than 20 months without any problems.
Then one fine day, shortly after updating ios, the screen suddenly turned flickering yellow while I was using the phone. It was like a ‘death screen’ which there were no options to restart the phone or select any other options or settings.
I brought the phone to Apple Orchard for repair which the diagnosis was a ‘burned screen’.
My phone was pre-inspected to be in otherwise good condition with no physical damages found. My phone has always been handled carefully and properly charged according to Apple’s recommended guidelines. The phone does not have any teething issues since purchase. I asked the staff if the ‘burned screen’ was due to the IOS update. He neither confirmed or denied. There was no official statement from Apple at that point of time on this defect.
After the phone was collected from repair, it was in locked mode. To access the phone I was given the only option to ‘erase iphone’. In other words, resetting the iphone to factory settings.
The technical staff from Apple store informed me that the phone was locked after ten wrong password attempts. During the repair process the password might have been prompted and entered wrongly too many times. Apple confirmed there was no way I could recover any data that was not backed up.
I was distressed as the phone contained many apps with stored passwords, photos and important personal and financial information.
I was puzzled why Apple do not have security procedures in place which allow authorised personnels from Apple to be empowered to unlock the phone on exceptional grounds. In my case it was locked due to repair and not theft. Apple could have requested for identification documents to prove I am the beneficial owner or to register my identity if required.
It is a shame that Apple does not have an official email which one could feedback directly and get a reply because every technical query was expected to be covered in their FAQ.
I would like to reach out to everyone here to take caution and take good care of their iphones. Be careful of unexpectancies like the yellow screen which might strike out of nowhere. Remember to backup your phone often. Apple is not going to be responsible if your data is gone. That is your problem.